§ 174. The Psalms of Heman and Ethan. The titles ascribe the 88th Psalm to Heman and the 89th to Ethan, both called Ezrahites. In this appellative there is some difficulty, (comp. I Kings v. 11. (iv. 31.) with I Chron. ii. 6. vi. 18, 29, (33, 44.) which however has no connexion with the subject before us, for the contents of these psalms show that they are of a more recent date than the age of the persons mentioned in the places referred to.[a] In the 88th we hear the complaints of a person of whose preservation there was scarcely any hope, such as Hezekiah in his pestilential disorder (Isa. xxxviii.), or the leprous king Uzziah might have uttered. The 89th appears like an answer to the complaints of the preceding, speaks of David as a person who had long been dead, dwells upon the great promise which had been given to David, and represents the state of things as if its accomplishment were in great danger, as affairs really stood in the time of Hezekiah's sickness. Some refer this psalm to the last periods of the kingdom of Judah,[b] (a) In the Germ. Introd. p. 612, 613, the author expresses his opinion that most probably the titles are incorrect, but that the two Levites who are mentioned in I Chron. vi. 18, 29. (33, 44) are undoubtedly the persons intended. Such is also the opinion of DE WETTE. Tr.] [b) Comp. EICHH. Einleit. § 622. S. 23. f. DATHE. Arg. in Ps. lxxxviii. lxxxix. Tr.] § 175. Psalms ascribed to Solomon. The 72d and 127th Psalms are ascribed to Solomon. But his name seems to have been prefixed to the latter, for no other reason than because the first verse mentions the building of a house, which was understood of the temple. Even the Alexandrine version, which is generally fuller in the titles of the psalms than the Hebrew text, omits the title of this psalm.- -Ps. lxxii. consists of prayers, composed for the inauguration of Solomon, who could not have said all that is therein contained of himself. § 176. Of the anonymous Psalms. The Hebrew text does not mention the authors of the other psalms. The Alexandrine version names some, but scarcely ever such as agree with the contents of the psalms themselves. Thus it attributes the 137th to Jeremiah, whereas its author was a returned exile; the 146th and 147th it ascribes to Haggai and Zechariah, on the mere conjecture that they were the production of one or other of those prophets. § 177. Collection and division of the Psalms. The division of the Psalter into five books existed as early as the date of the Alexandrine version.* This appears from the fact that that version contains the doxologies appended to the first four books; Ps. xl. 13. (xli. 14.) lxxi. 18, 19. (lxxii. 18-20.) lxxxviii. 52. (lxxxix. 53.) cv. (cvi.) 48. The reason of this division may be gathered from the character of the psalms contained in each book. Almost all the psalms of the first book are the work of David. In the second there are twenty-two of David, one of Asaph, and eight anonymous inscribed to the Korahites. The third contains one, the 86th, ascribed to David, and this doubtful; the remainder are partly Asaph's, partly the work of an uncertain author, and partly anonymous. Two only in the fourth book are ascribed to David, and one, the 90th, to Moses, the others being anonymous. In the fifth, fifteen are assigned to David, one is ascribed conjecturally to Solomon, and the rest are anonymous.— -These five books of the Psalms, therefore, are evidently so many different collections, following each other in the order in which they were made. The first person who began the collection put together the psalms of David; the second, those psalms of David which it was still in his power to glean, admitting a few others ;[a] the third had no psalms of David in view, and when he wished to join his own collection to the former, he added the note at the end of the second book: "the prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended," lxxii. 20. The fourth collected anonymous psalms, * [EICHHORN divides the Psalms into two parts and five books, the first part ending with the 72d Psalm. 623. Tr.] and therefore his book exhibits only one of Moses, the 90th, and two of David, the 101st and 103d, the latter of which however is certainly not his. The last made a collection of whatever sacred poems he could gather; he has therefore fifteen of David, and thirty anonymous. This view of the subject readily accounts for the fact, that some psalms contained in an earlier collection again occur in a later, as the 14th and 53d, the 57th and 108th. It is hardly possible to determine the age of these collections. All, or at least the two last, which contain Chaldaisms, were made after the return from Babylon, at the time of the re-establishment of the temple worship. The 18th Psalm occurs entire in II Sam. xxii.; and therefore it may be inferred that in the author's age the collection of Psalms had not been formed.[b] It is doubted on good grounds, whether smaller collections existed in David's time, for divine service at the tabernacle and afterwards in the temple. Such collections were unnecessary, as several copies of single psalms would be sufficient for the Levite singers. The command of Hezekiah to sing the Psalms of David and Asaph in the temple, is no proof of their having been collected together; for they could be sung without any such collection being made. [c] 1. In the Alexandrine and Vulgate versions, the 9th and 10th Psalms are connected, and therefore the subsequent numbers are one less than in the Hebrew, as far as the 114th, which again is united with the 115th. The 116th is divided into two, which still continues a deficiency of one in the following numbers; but the division of the 147th into two, completes the number 150. [d] These remarks are founded on the Hebrew text. But in seven manuscripts the first Psalm is without a number, being considered as introductory; and Jerome declares, that the Hebrews did not number it. Hence it is that the second Psalm is called the first in Acts xiii. 33.* 2. The word or letters which occurs so often, are variously explained by learned men. The most probable opinion is, that it denotes some musical mark equivalent, perhaps, to our da capo.[e] (a) DE WETTE supposes this book to be formed of still smaller collections, perhaps 1st, Ps. xlii-l.; 2d, Ps. li-lxv.; enlarged by subsequent additions. He thinks the same of all the three succeeding books. Ein leit. 271. See more in BERTHOLDT, S. 2009. ff. Tr.] * [See the critical editions. Tr.] [6) Jahn thinks it improbable that the author of Samuel would have introduced the Psalm, if the collection of which it was a part had existed in his time. The conclusion does not seen to be very clear; for the author of Samuel may have thought proper to add a psalm to his work from an existing collection, or he may have added it from some common source. Tr.] [c) After all, it is certainly very probable that the use of the Psalms in the public service would give rise to such a collection, for which, perhaps, some private collections would afford a supply. Eichhorn, who examines this subject, thinks that the first part was not originally intended for divine worship,-that David may have collected the first book, but not the second,—that there were certainly private collections of David's poems made in early times by religious Hebrews,—and that hence arose our present Psalter. He remarks, that in such a collection some pieces of David's would naturally be omitted, and that if the collector affixed David's name to those Psalms only, to which he found it affixed in his copy, or which he certainly knew to belong to David, it will be seen why in the first collection, which contains a large part of David's poems, his name is sometimes omitted. Such a private collection would become enriched in the course of time with other poems, either of David or of other authors. See § 624, p. 33-37. Tr.] [d) The following table, from DE WETTE, exhibits at one view the different numerations of the Hebrew and the Alexandrine version. e) See Germ. Introd. p. 721. ROSENM. Proleg. ad Schol. P. lix ixii. Tr.] § 178. The Psalms of Degrees. --- Fifteen Psalms (cxx-cxxxiv.) have each the title niyon, which is usually translated a song of degrees. but which might be rendered a song of goings up, that is to say, of journeyings to Jerusalem. It can hardly indicate the return from Babylon, not to say that the 126th Psalm was composed some time after that event. It refers to the customary journeys to Jerusalem in order to celebrate the festivals; for these were not performed singly, but, in the oriental manner, in companies, chanting perhaps these songs by the way. The expression is very appropriate to these journeys, for the orientals are fond of using the phraseology going up, in reference to journeys to the metropolis.[a] [a) See Dissertatio Chorographica notiones superi et inferi, indeque ascensus et decensus in chorographiis sacris occurrentis evolvens, ab A. G. Baumgarten, Halæ Magd. 1735. § 36. in Commentationes Theologica a VELTHUSEN, KUINOEL et RUPERTI editæ, Lips. 1798. Vol. V. p. 455. Comp. also JAHN's Archæology, Upham's translation, § 229. Tr.] § 179. Whether there are any Psalms composed for choirs. It is evident from Ps. xxiv. cxviii. and cxxxvi. that in some Psalms there are two choirs that chant. But it is not probable that wherever the person speaking is varied, as in Ps. ii. xxi. lxxxix. xci. xcv. cix. cxxi. cxxvi. cxxviii., the choirs were also changed; and much less, that where no change of the person speaking is observable, different choirs may still be distinguished, as NACHTIGAL contends, in his book entitled Zion, 1796. The penitential Psalms (vi. xxv. xxxii. xxxv. xxxviii. li. and cxxx.) in the divine service,* are collected according to their subject; although all of them do not express penitence, but some utter complaints against enemies. The alphabetical Psalms (xxv. xxxiv. xxxvii. cxi. cxii. cxix. and cxlv.) comprise a variety of subjects; yet they deserve to be compared, for the purpose of examining the Hebrew method of versification. [The author alludes to the serviee of the Romish church. Tr.] |